Broken
by Leodragon678
Summary: "Sometimes something catastrophic can occur in a split second that changes a person's life forever; other times one minor incident can lead to another and then another and another, eventually setting off just as big a change in a body's life." (SA2 / Forces AU)
1. Prologue

**Hey everybody, this is a fic I've had going on in my head for a while and I thought it's about time I got it to paper, you might have guessed by the description but this is a Sonic Adventure 2 and a Sonic Forces AU! There's some certain events that have been changed which will be discussed this chapter! Let's get started!**

**Broken**

_**Prologue**_

"_Amy, take care of yourself…"_

I still can't believe that was the last thing he said to me… I mean, I don't think any of us would have expected things to turn out this way…

I took a look across the skyline, resting my arms on the handle of my upside down hammer. Eggman's metropolis loomed on the skyline, as the sounds of explosions and smoke filled the air of the city. It had been six years now since Sonic had…

The rose colored hedgehog wiped a small tear out of her eye, remembering the capsule being launched from the ARK and exploding before her very eyes. Since then, she had made it her goal to take his last words to heart. Somebody needed to step up, and she decided it would have to be her.

The hedgehog jumped down from the position atop the roof and rolling as she landed to lessen the impact. She made her way down the series of alleyways left over from whatever city had once stood here, now completely turned to rubble.

She retrieved a small circular badge from among her bag and held it up to a specific brick in the wall, as she did, the wall slid aside, revealing large metal door, which folded up into the ceiling.

As she stepped inside, she was instantly met with a wave from Cream. "Hey Amy! How'd it go?"

"The patrol went fine, still seems like Eggman thinks this place is completely abandoned."

"That's good!" Cream responded, she hadn't changed much over the years, simply advancing into her teenage years, but she remained her happy energetic self. "Oh! Rouge said she wanted to see you!"

"Did she say what for?"

"She wanted to upgrade our communicators or something? I'm not quite sure." Cream responded, shrugging as she did.

"I've got nowhere better to be for now. I might as well head on over there!"

Cream nodded and Amy pushed past her and further into the base. She made her way to the workshop where Rouge seemed to be waiting for her.

"You needed me for something?" The hedgehog asked, causing the bat to look up from the project she was working on.

"You're back! But, yeah, I do need your communicator. Using some of the parts G.U.N. decided to leave from Eggman's destroyed robots, I've been trying to improve their range."

The hedgehog removed the headset and handed it to her, "I can't believe we've been at this for six years. I mean, I've just been thinking about it you know…"

"I think a lot of us still are," The bat responded. "Especially with this thing still around." She waved a small yellow handheld device, which Amy recognized as the Miles Electric. It was a bit dilapidated with age, but still seemed to function, much to everyone's dismay. It was kept in their headquarters as while Rogue had managed to figure out how to access it's files, she didn't dare try to fix it, even with her new found technological prowess.

It had been about four years since Tails had left that note for everyone, and while nobody wanted to talk about what happened, everybody knew that he wasn't coming back.

"I mean, it's crazy to think this thing's still working after this long. Especially with what it's been through..." Rogue noticed the solemn look on Amy's face, "You're thinking about what happened, huh?"

The hedgehog silently nodded.

"It's not your fault, you know that right? I mean, we all know how Tails was after Sonic died… I honestly think we lost both of them."

"I should have done something more..."

"Don't think like that! If you have to, I just know they're both happy together. It helps…"

Amy walked out of the room with her head somewhat hung, but she quickly straightened up. That wasn't any way to act, she would deal with it on her own time. As she walked out, she was instantly face to face with Knuckles, whom after the war had broken out, had resorted to keeping the Master Emerald broken and fragmented into pieces, so nobody could utilize or find it's power.

"Hey Amy!"

"Hey, how you been?"

"Good, at least, as good as I can at least."

Amy smiled and continued on her way. She headed back to her quarters and threw herself down on the bed. Fighting back the tears that arose, she reached into her satchel and produced a small white paper, one that, while damaged from it's folds and somewhat dirty, was still legible.

"_To whoever finds this," _It began. _"I just want you to know that, I'm sorry. I can't take it any more, no matter what I do or where I go I just, I see Sonic everywhere. I've been getting less sleep and, I don't even like inventing any more. I just want you all to know that you've all been amazing friends, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I'm really sorry to leave you guys like this, but I just don't know what to do… I'm really sorry…"_

The hedgehog scanned down to the final line, _"Love Tails."_

Nobody had seen him after the letter, and with how depressed he had been afterward, it wasn't hard to figure out what had happened to the kit, he'd had suicidal thoughts more than once… Since then, Rouge with her G.U.N. experience, had turned to their technical genius. It wasn't the same, nothing had been the same…

**-X-**

Commander Tower rubbed his temples, deep in thought. Eggman had captured the world and established his own sanctuary, among his own city named Eggmanland. Obviously, there were some serious problems with a headlong assault, especially with how fortified the city itself was, there would be major causalities among their forces, and even then there was no guarantee that it would work…

As such, they relied on surgical strikes on certain areas and preventing Eggman from expanding his influence and territory as much as possible. Mercenaries and Vigilantes did give them some additional support, but they were caught in somewhat of a stalemate.

"Commander?" He heard, snapping himself out of his own trancelike state. "There's a incoming transmission from Eggmanland."

"Do we know from who?"

"It appears to be another transmission from Eggman himself."

The commander followed Lieutenant Pryce out of his office and into the mission room, where he asked for the transmission to be projected onto the main screen. Instantly he was met with the face of Eggman, still wearing his normal yellow and red getup, along with a thick black cape that had been added over the years. The tyrant's voice instantly filled the room.

"Hello my subjects!"

"We're not your subjects!" Commander Tower responded, "We'll never bow to you!"

"I wouldn't say never! In fact, I'm back to see if you've taken my offer?"

"Not with the terms you've given! Unconditional world surrender!? Are you insane!?"

"My victory is inevitable, you can't resist forever, I hope you'll change your mind! Until we meet again Commander!"

The transmission ended leaving the room in complete and total silence. Tower had only one question on his mind, _"Where did it all go wrong?"_

**-X-**

He took another leap of faith across the rooftop, panting as he ran. Adjusting his glasses as he landed in a effort not to lose them, he dropped down the side of a nearby building into one of the many alleyways, several of Eggman's robots on his tail. He had misjudged the drop however and more tumbled into the alley than descended, landing squarely on his chest, he swore he heard something crack and a sharp pain fired through his midriff, but he couldn't stop running.

He hid behind a small highway barrier, crumbled and broken from the original raid on the city, after a while, he heard the robots leave, maybe they hadn't heard him. He looked down at his chest, applying some pressure to it, he instantly regretted it as a sharp pain fired through him.

"Dang it Gadget…" He thought aloud, "You've got to stop hurting yourself like this…"

He painfully stood back up and check around both corners of the alleyway, it seemed to be all clear. He carefully stepped out and started to make his way back across the city to where his hideout was. After avoiding several groups of patrolling robots, he eventually arrived, and threw himself down on one of the two beds present, the other one had been long since empty.

He rummaged through his belonging until he found some painkillers, which he quickly took, then produced from his satchel a small seemingly intact motherboard he had salvaged from one of the many robots. He would need somewhere to reprogram it, but it was certainly a start.

He collapsed on his bed, and quickly allowed sleep to overtake him.

**Alright everyone, that's it for the introduction! I hope you all liked this so far and we'll be getting more information next chapter! Until next time!**


	2. Past and Present

**Hello everybody! Thank you guys for the support on last chapter of this story! I'm so sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out, but I figured I'd give you guys a second full length chapter before continuing on the normal upload schedule. Let's get started!**

**Hjue44: Aww, thank you!**

**Obliviblur: It's a interesting premise, and you'll get to see more of Gadget soon, along with some other changes to some of the original cast! Characterization should get better as we go!**

**That's everyone!**

**Broken**

_**Past and Present**_

Gadget rolled himself out of bed, groaning as his chest flared up again. Things had not been pleasant since the war had started, and especially since…

He looked over at the now empty unused bed, it wasn't that he had to keep it. It was just he still had hope that somehow, he was still alive…

Taking another dosage of painkillers, he retrieved his satchel and quietly exited his personal hideaway. Well, it wasn't really his to begin with, but that didn't matter now. He looked over on the horizon and saw Eggman's great metropolis standing against the backdrop, he scowled, but continued on his way, he had a job to do.

He found a small ledge hanging out from what remained of a nearby building, he jumped up and grabbed hold of the lip of it with his hands and hoisted himself up. Ascending the wreckage of the structure and eventually reaching the top, he quickly checked around for any more patrolling robots, he didn't need what happened last time again, especially now that he was injured. He especially hoped he didn't run into that… Thing…

He'd heard the rumors, who hadn't? Rumors of a new force among Eggman's ranks, a jackal with the ability to control space and influence minds. Infinite, they had been calling him. While he hadn't seen anything himself to prove his existence, he hoped that he never would…

Being somewhat far from his home, he noticed in the building next to him that one of upper windows had been broken. It could be used as an entry point. Gadget took a few steps back and jumped to the other rooftop, landing on his feet as he slowed to a stop. He gently lowered himself down toward the window and kicked apart what remained of the glass, being careful not to injure himself.

Carefully making his way through the hole, he set himself on his feet and began to investigate his surroundings. There wasn't much, just some dilapidated furniture and dust covering everything. He mad his way deeper into the building, it seemed to have been an apartment complex at some point, before the war that is. Most of the rooms were empty, their doors left wide open as their occupants had scrambled to evacuate.

Gadget eventually made his way to the lobby, locating one of the computers that had been used to run the place. He smiled to himself, while it did look damaged, there was more than likely some components to salvage, and he doubted the owners would mind.

The main CPU would be too heavy to transport in its entirety, at least conveniently over the distance to his hideaway. So he started to disassemble it where he was, looking through it's interiors for anything that looked salvageable. A few wires and assorted parts here and there, but it looked like it had already been somewhat picked over or damaged before.

As he worked, he heard the telltale sounds of blaster fire outside, along with what he believed to be yelling outside. Strangely, it didn't seemed to be pained or desperate, but rather, confident. The wolf was somewhat confused by this, but figured that if it didn't bother him, he wouldn't go about provoking it.

After a few moments however, curiosity got the better of him and he peeked out the front door to get a better view of the scene. He noticed a few of Eggman's robots being attacked by a small group of Mobians, one of which, was a pink hedgehog, wielding a large red and yellow hammer. Before he could think any further on the topic however, one of the robots had noticed him and fired on his position. Gadget quickly dove backward, his eyes wide with terror.

"_Please just ignore me! I- I don't know how to-"_

Before he could finish the thought, the machine broke through the door, sending small fragments of stone flying into the room, the wolf turned to run, only to be shot in the back. Searing pain surged through his nervous system, as he fell to his chest.

"You are trespassing on Empire territory," The monotonous voice began. "Surrender immediately."

The wolf slowly rose to his feet, the new burn on his back still hurt like crazy, but he was determined to figure his way out of the situation he had found himself in. As he went to attack however, he was instantly met with another blast to the chest, he collapsed backward, vision swimming and very lightheaded. Sleep felt like a very good idea right now as and as his eyes closed, he was vaguely aware of the robot above him being smashed to pieces before he blacked out…

**-X-**

Gadget awoke some time later, his chest still throbbing from the pain, and he still felt quite a bit lightheaded. He rubbed his sore temples as he sat upright, he instantly knew he wasn't where he had been before... But it didn't look like Eggman had taken him either…

He knew he wasn't thinking straight, being unconscious for as long as he had did a number of his awareness. He slowly rose to his shaky feet and made his way toward the door, as he did. Somebody, a rabbit to be specific, stepped in.

"You're probably really confused, huh?"

Gadget looked at her quizzically, confirming her suspicions. "I guess I've got some explaining to do now that you're awake." She continued, "My name's Cream, what's yours?"

"Gadget, where am I?"

"You're… Well, I'm not supposed to say, mainly because it could get me in a lot of trouble with Amy, but-"

"Hold on, you know her?"

"I mean, yeah, you're in a resistance base after all."

Gadget seemed dumbfounded for a moment, "So you're telling me that I'm in a resistance base with Amy Rose?"

"Well when you put it that way, you make it sound like we're famous."

"You are! I've looked up to you guys! Ever since the war broke out I've debated on trying to join you guys! I just wasn't sure how…"

"I guess we could always use the help! Why don't you stay here for a bit and we'll see what you can do! I mean, is you're fine with it…"

"That'd be amazing! I'm sure it'll be worth your time!"

Cream smiled, "Alright, now just stay here, you took quite a hit."

Gadget nervously chuckled, "Well, it's not the worst I've had, that's for sure. But I'll just be here."

The rabbit stepped out of the room and instantly was face to face with Knuckles. "I still don't trust him," The echidna mused.

"Oh, come on, he'll be fine! Besides, we need the help, we're not getting anywhere as we are now, especially not with Eggman and G.U.N. mercenaries getting the in way all the time."

Knuckles growled under his breath, most of the time, the mercenary groups that were sent out to 'help' them merely got in the way. Most of them thought of themselves as better or more skilled, or were just plain overconfident. Eggman's mercenaries though were worse… They'd had a few close encounters with some of them, they proved to be a ongoing nuisance.

Amy approached the two of them, seemingly hearing their conversation. "How's he doing?"

"He's doing fine," Cream responded. "At least, as fine as he'll be for a while…"

Amy stepped into the small infirmary and instantly, Gadget's attention turned to her. "You're Amy!"

The hedgehog smiled, "You'd be right, what where you doing out there?"

"I was looking for some computer parts, I was hoping I could build something to really let me help out and I guess I got in over my head…"

"Where'd you learn about computers?"

"I had a… Friend of mine…"

Amy noticed the change of tone in his voice, he went from cheery to almost full of misery. "Do you mind talking about it?"

"I'd rather not... It just hurts…"

"Well, can you tell about him? I mean, not how he…"

"I guess..." Gadget began, "His name was Finn, we ran into each other shortly after the war started and Eggman started his attack on the city. He taught me a lot, obviously he'd had a rougher life then I had… We stayed together, safety in numbers. But eventually we just got too reckless. He got caught, I escaped and I never saw him again. There must have been something I could have done…"

"I feel you on that…"

"About Sonic? I heard about that you know… It's what most of us thought kicked this whole thing off…"

"Well, you're not wrong on that. Sonic's death certainly had something to do with it but, it's probably more how we, his friends, reacted… Most of us were just completely overwhelmed with grief… Nobody bothered to stop Eggman, some were less and more effected, but it wasn't enough, especially with the state everyone was in…"

"How'd it go for you?"

"I, tried to put it aside, someone needed to step in and take his place. With Shadow, who would have worked, killed on the ARK by the Biolizard, and Tails completely devastated and depressed. It had to be me…"

"What happened to him? Tails I mean."

Amy was silent for a moment, "He killed himself… That was what I wish I would have done different; I should have been there for him. I knew it would hit him hard, I mean Sonic was basically his family, but I was too busy dealing with my own things that I couldn't. At least, not until it was too late…"

"I guess we've both lost some friends, huh?" Gadget mused.

"Maybe, Finn's still out there."

"I haven't seen him in years, there's just no way… I appreciate your optimism, but he's gone…"

Amy sighed, and a silence settled over the two of them…

"How did Tails… I mean…"

"Kill himself?"

Yeah…"

"We're not sure, the note didn't say, that there wasn't anything in it that said how. We never found him after… He did live by a cliff though, so we guess he threw himself off, probably with himself tied to a rock or something so he'd sink. He's long gone…"

"Is there any chance he could have…"

"Faked it? We ruled that out a long time ago, he would have taken something of his. He loved his machines like his children, he wouldn't have been able to leave all of them behind… Nothing was touched."

Gadget sighed, "Well, I'd just like to say it's an honor to meet you."

Amy smiled, "It was nice meeting you too, now get yourself some more sleep, you look exhausted."

The wolf couldn't help but agree and gently drifted back off to sleep…"

**Alright everyone, that's it for today! Again, I'm sorry for making you all wait so long for this update, it really wasn't my intention. But I'd still like to hear all of your guy's thoughts! We should be back to the normal upload schedule now, so until next time!**


	3. Changing Hands

**Hello! I think it's about time we get another update out here, let's get going!**

**Hjue44: It's good to see that you like it! Thanks for the review, and I hope you do well on your essay!**

**Wedgely: Yeah, it's a bit more on the heavier side compared to some of my other fics. Considering the setting, it's to be somewhat expected. I do like having Amy as a large main character, as I feel she sometimes doesn't get the credit she deserves! That's one of the main reasons this story came about!**

**That's everyone!**

**Broken**

_**Changing Hands**_

Gadget's eyes fluttered open, sitting upright, his chest glared up again. While it did feel better, it was still somewhat painful. He rose to his feet and stretched his back, stretching his hands overhead. He made his way out of the infirmary and into the main living space of the bunker.

"How you feeling?" Amy asked, she was sat in the main living area. Seemingly contemplating over a small device.

"Better, it's still not great, but it feels better now."

"That's good to hear!"

Gadget nodded, before noticing the small device in her palm. "What's that?" He asked.

"Well, it's a transmitter, one of Eggman's to be specific. They're mainly used by some of his mercenaries to control some of his forces. Increase their firepower and the works. We managed to get our hands on one."

Gadget had seen some of the mercenaries in action, both Eggman and G.U.N. had employed their use throughout the war, for very different means. Eggman's were in it for the funds and potentially out of spite for something that happened to them in the past. G.U.N. mercenaries were more interesting however, most were vigilantes who would be willing to fight and stand up to Eggman G.U.N. just provided incentives to work with them, assisting and striking at whatever they saw fit.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Gadget asked.

"Normally, yes… The problem is that the robots that it was connected to have all been destroyed. So, we've found a different purpose for it."

"What is it?"

"We've been reverse engineering them to use as communicators, we've had a spare or two around and while you were asleep, we made you yours… That is, assuming you're wanting to join? I mean you seemed pretty happy to be here."

"Y- You're letting me join?"

"I mean, why not?" The hedgehog questioned, "We could always use the help, and it seems like you've got a reason to fight Eggman."

Gadget smiled with anticipation, "Count me in."

Amy tossed him his communicator, "Welcome to the team!"

**-X-**

Abraham Tower growled under his breath, it was enough to have to deal with a crazed mastermind on his hands, but dealing with a dimension and laws of physics defying jackal was something else on top of his already long and difficult to do list.

This war had gone on for too long, with Eggman refusing to surrender to G.U.N. forces, and being stuck in a stalemate not helping things. In addition, it seemed the scientist was unwilling to compromise on his demands. Total global surrender was simply something he couldn't just do…

The G.U.N. commander consulted his list of assets and teams, most were composed of military forces, but there were a few small mercenary and resistance groups present as well that were willing to help out.

One of them was constantly available, as well as got consistent results, and that would be Rose's team. Amy Rose got results, that was something that he had to admit.

"Lieutenant Pryce? Get Rose on the communicators, I've got something for her."

After a moment, Pryce returned, this time with a small communicator. Instantly, the voice of Amy Rose was heard. "Commander Tower, what can I help you with?"

"Well it's nice to know that somebody is willing to help, I've got a smaller assignment for you. There's a small bastion of Eggman's forces moving inward to the city, they seem to be controlled by a nearly antenna."

"You want us to break in and destroy it?"

"Quite to the contrary, I need it intact, just disable it. We're looking to modify it to try and jam some of the nearby communications from Eggman."

"Seems interesting enough, why did you call us though?"

"Because you're rather reliable when it comes to dealing with Eggman's tech, as much as I don't admit it, even I know my men have limits."

The hedgehog nodded, "Consider it done." The connection cut and Commander Tower smiled to himself, this was certainly progress.

**-X-**

Amy started to round up her team for the mission. She figured bringing everybody with risked comprising the mission and giving away where they were at, they needed to be stealthy. She eventually settled on two others to join her, Cream and Gadget.

She did consider the up and down sides to bringing the new member along, but figured that he would be helpful with his technological insight and it would be nice to see what he was actually capable of in a combat situation. He grabbed the two of them and started to brief them both on what exactly their goal was. Gadget seemed eager and nervous, while Cream was much more level headed and experienced in the area.

"Alright, G.U.N. has asked us to take over a nearby communications tower. I've got the location as well as several locations of potential Eggman forces." The hedgehog laid a map of the surrounding area out on the table, there was a dot indicating the location of the radio tower along with several circled areas which showed where enemy forces were more likely to appear.

"The plan," Amy continued, drawing with her finger across the paper. "Is too approach from the East side, it's much more likely that we'll be able to avoid running into some of the guards. Once we're in, we'll clear out the area and Cream and I will keep any reinforcements out while Gadget takes down the main tower."

"M- Me?" Gadget asked. "I mean I'm not-"

Amy couldn't help but smile at his embarrassment, "It's alright, you'll do great! Besides, you've got to figure out for yourself if this is something you want to do or not!"

Gadget had to agree with the statement, "I guess that makes sense…"

"You'll do fine," Cream also added. "We'll have your back!"

The trio grabbed any supplies they would need, including Gadget retrieving his communicator which was capable of interfacing with Eggman's tech. The other two also had theirs on hand, allowing them to communicate in an emergency.

The trio moved silently through the abandoned streets, approaching a radio tower in the distance. Occasionally, they would be forced to take cover as a wandering group of robots passed them, hoping they hadn't been noticed.

Eventually, they were stationed just inside a destroyed building, the tower just outside, it was completely surrounded however, so it would be difficult to get in and successfully take down it's signal.

"Alright," Amy started. "Me and Cream will distract the robots while you get to the controlling terminal, you're going to want to get into it and at least take the signal down. There's a G.U.N. program on your communicator that will allow you to hook the tower to up their communication network."

"What's the plan for getting out?"

"G.U.N. said they would be sending in reinforcements once they saw the fighting break out, they don't want to engage however until they know we're starting."

The wolf took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves as best he could. "Alright, we've got this."

The other two quickly charged out of their hiding place and instantly began taking out the patrolling forces. Amy swinging her hammer with reckless abandon, taking down several of Eggman's robots in a single strike. Cream on the other hand, was much more surgical in her strikes, sweeping the robots of their feet before pummeling them.

Gadget simply tucked his head low and darted through the chaos, he reached the exterior terminal and started trying to get his way into its internal systems. As he did, a blaster bolt whizzed past his head.

_"This is insane!"_ He thought to himself, _"Whose idea was it to join these guys!?"_

He tried to connect to the internal servers, and before he would successfully get completely in, one of the guards rushed in. Gadget immediately grabbed the nearest object he could find and hurled it at the machine in a panic. He successfully struck it over the head with a nearby lamp, knocking the machine over. He instantly pulled out his communicator and contacted Amy.

"There's robots in here!" He exclaimed.

"Isn't that normal?"

"No! You don't understand, I-" Before the wolf could finish his sentence however, a blaster bolt struck him on the back of his head. Instantly, his vision blurred and he caught himself on the nearby table as his sense of balance went out. Amy burst into the room a moment later as the robot was investigating its target. The hedgehog instantly delivered a crushing blow to its head, sending machinery fragments flying through the air as the robot collapsed, dead.

The hedgehog helped the wolf back to his feet. He was a bit woozy, but otherwise seemed alright. He placed a hand to the back of his sore head.

"You alright?" Amy asked.

"Just a bit out of it, but yeah… I'm alright."

Gadget continued with his work, just as G.U.N. reinforcements arrived. The sounds of gunfire could be heard outside as the agents engaged with the standing troops.

"Just a little more," Gadget thought aloud. Suddenly, the terminal display changed. Allowing commands to be issued to it, the wolf quickly stood and started to work on the commands needed to change the control of the terminal itself by removing its current connection. As soon as it was done, he quickly signaled to Amy.

As soon as she received the signal that Gadget had finished, she, Cream, and Gadget all now had to leave the area, the defensive forces had been mostly dealt with, and the outpost now was firmly in G.U.N.'s control.

The trio ducked into one of the destroyed alleyways, content in the work they had done…

**Alright everybody, that's it for today! Let me know what you thought in a review! Until next time!**


	4. Memoirs of a Friend

**Hello everyone! It's time for another update here! Before we begin, I'd just like to announce that I have a new story on my profile named Central Intelligence! It would be amazing of you guys if you could check it out! I don't have any reviews so we can get right into it!**

**Broken**

_**Memoirs of a Friend**_

As the trio made their way through the abandoned alleyways of the ruined city. Gadget couldn't help but think about things, more importantly, what had happened to Finn.

He hadn't been completely truthful with Amy when he covered his story. Even Eggman's most basic of forces terrified him because of what had happened, but he figured he would have had time to adjust, not be instantly thrown into a raid.

He kept his thoughts to himself for now however, he'd bring it up when it was a good time… For now, they traveled in comfortable silence. Once they reached the Resistance compound and made their way inside, Amy gave Gadget a pat on the back. "You did good! Especially for your first time, everyone's nervous for their first."

"Yeah?"

"How's it feel to be finally getting back at Eggman?"

"It felt great!"

"That's awesome! Well, I suppose I'll let you get used to how things work around here a bit, maybe you could get to know some of the others we've got here!"

"I'll do that, thanks!"

Amy nodded and continued off toward the main living quarters, as he was near the workshop, he decided to check there first. Inside he found a white female bat, seemingly distracted by something on the bench in front of her that she was working on. As soon as he took a step through the door however, she spoke.

"You must be Gadget?"

"T- That's me!" He responded, a bit off guard at the start, but eventually finding his footing.

"Amy seems to have taken a liking to you, she also mentioned that you knew a lot about engineering?"

"I do, is there anything I can help you with?"

"You're just fine sweetie, I think I can handle this thing myself."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Rouge, former G.U.N. agent."

"Former?"

"Well, I used to work with G.U.N. before everything went downhill. I left after the war started, I just felt like we weren't getting a whole lot done, too many peace negotiations. I've fought Eggman before, they're not getting through to him that way."

"Did you get to meet, you know… Sonic?"

"Not really… I saw him a few times before the ARK thing went down, but not enough to really get to know him… I heard about what he did, he certainly seemed like the type to do that sort of thing."

"G.U.N. tried to stop him afterward? Right?"

"Before he could take over? We certainly tried, but I think Eggman knew he was on a clock, he only had so long that he could use the shock. He hit hard and fast, much faster than we were prepared to handle. Eventually everyone managed to keep him contained, which is why his empire is only as big as it is now. If we hadn't gotten involved, there's a chance that the world would be his by now…"

"That's… Scary."

"Yeah, Knuckles helped a lot too, though I'm fairly certain he grieved on his own time. He'll never admit it though."

"Why not?"

"He's just like that. Stubborn as always…"

"Do you know where he would be? I'm trying to get to know everyone a little bit." Gadget responded.

"He kind of comes and goes, there's a good chance he's actually not here. I'll let him know you stopped by however."

Gadget waved to her on his way out, as he made his way back to his quarters however, he was stopped by Amy.

"Gadget, what happened out there?"

"What do you mean?"

"You sounded absolutely terrified over the communicator, I'm certain there's more there then you've let on. If we're going to be a team, you've got to trust me."

"I do trust you!"

"Then what happened?"

Gadget sighed; he'd backed himself into a corner on this one. It was about time he came clean. "Whenever I see one of those, robots I just freeze up… I know they're not that scary and I probably shouldn't be but I can't help it after what happened to Finn…"

"Would you mind explaining?"

"Finn… He gave himself up because of a stupid mistake I made, it's my fault he's gone. We'd both still be alive if it wasn't for me…"

"Don't blame yourself! It's never just your fault, and while some of it may be, it's about forgiving yourself."

"I just should have known better…"

"Do- Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't think so," The wolf responded, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "I'll just deal with it myself…"

Amy wasn't sure what to respond, she knew that him trying to deal with it all on his own could lead to disastrous consequences. But if he didn't want help, then there wasn't much she could do.

"Alright," Amy replied. "Just know I'm here if you ever want to talk about it. I used to blame myself for Tails too… The first thing you need to realize thought is it isn't all your fault."

"I'll keep that in mind…" The wolf solemnly replied.

Amy figured it was best he be left alone now, and she made her way out of the living quarters. Gadget returned to his personal quarters to be alone with his thoughts. It was getting late either way, and he figured it was about time to be headed to bed. As soon as he drifted off into dreams however, the memories began to surface…

**Alright everyone, very short chapter today, I promise the next one will be normal length, but I need to end this one here for reasons that will be apparent next chapter! I hope you'll understand! Until next time!**


	5. Visions of Beyond

**Hello everybody! I'm back with yet another update! Hopefully this will satisfy you all after the short one last time! Let's get right into it!**

**Sonicfanandotherstuff: It's enough to scar Gadget, so it's got to be pretty horrible all things considered.**

**Obliviblur: Thanks! I hope you'll continue to enjoy it!**

**Wedgely: Well, everyone's bound to be a bit more battle hardened and a bit more cautious, especially since they've been fighting this war for six years now! Everyone's bound to have some secrets!**

**Let's get started!**

**Broken**

_**Visions of Beyond**_

Gadget rolled over in his sleep, his dreams were not being kind to him, and although he often dealt with nightmares already, he was still a bit shook up by what had happened over the past bit. Specifically, about how he wasn't sure he was cut out for this whole hero thing. I mean, it was his fault Finn was dead. He still remembered when it happened. Before he was afraid to take risks, he dashed out to save a child who had been cornered by some of Eggman's robots. Finn had followed behind, constantly urging Gadget to not interfere with it. He didn't listen, while he was able to save the kid, he couldn't help himself, eventually, once Finn stepped in, they realized that the only way they would live was if somebody held them off…

He never saw Finn again after that…

He almost wished he could go back to that moment again, that maybe if he hadn't been so reckless, maybe Finn would still be alive…

Gadget tried his best to shake off the memories, but found himself unable to sleep, he rose to his feet and made his way out of his quarters, which was really just a bunk room and into the main lobby. It was late, and everyone else was certainly asleep by now. He was just trying to clean his head…

He checked the communicator he'd been given for the time. 2AM…

_"Geez Gadget…"_ He thought to himself, _"You're a mess… I mean why are you even here?"_

_"To help out I guess?"_

_"You know that's not true, you can't even deal with Eggman's basic pawns! Face it, you can't help them, they don't need your help…"_

_"Then… I don't know… I-"_

Before he could finish his thought however, one of the other doors opened and Amy emerged, seemingly alarmed by something. She had a communicator clutched tightly in one hand and her hammer in the other.

"What's wrong?" Gadget asked.

"Infinite took over the communications tower, he's there."

"You mean… The one we captured?"

"Yeah… I'd normally bring along someone to try and at least chase him off, but G.U.N. has dispatched Agent Whisper to the scene, she'll be helping out."

"I can help too!" The wolf instinctively added, only to immediately regret his decision, Amy didn't seem to notice.

"Well, we could use all the help we could get, come on! We need to hurry!"

Gadget quickly followed behind, he'd heard things about Infinite, about his ability to manipulate minds and influence the world around him. About how his power came from a mysterious gem in his chest… Just rumors though, nothing more… He'd also heard about mercenaries helping the Resistance. Vigilantes incentivized by G.U.N. to work with them, it seemed like he was about to have a firsthand encounter with both of them…

The duo made their way through the dark alleys of the city, back down the route they had traveled earlier to return, eventually, as they approached the tower, Amy pulled out her communicator. "Whisper, you there?"

The voice replied quickly, "Yes… Infinite is in the control center. If you can get him outside, I'll hit him…"

"Where are you exactly?"

"Above you…"

As they received the message, another Mobian descended the building next to them. The figure was a masked wolf with cream colored fur, the white mask that sat over their face disguising most of its features along with the black cloak that was wrapped around their body. A singular blue digital eye stared back at the two of them as the figure landed on the ground.

"Haven't seen you in a while Whisper." Amy added, you ready?"

The wolf merely nodded, cradling the rifle they carried in their hand. It appeared to be a form of sniper to Gadget, but he had some difficulty recognizing its design or power source.

"Alright, we'll get started." Amy responded, escorting Gadget toward the compound as Wisper made her way back to the roof.

"Who was she?" Gadget asked in a somewhat shushed tone.

"That's Whisper, she's a mercenary who works for G.U.N. who's been assigned to help us for this. She doesn't talk much but we've worked before."

Gadget nodded as they made their way into the building, Amy readied her weapon as Gadget made his way behind her. "Alright, there's a good chance he'll be trying to regain access to the internal computer, I'll distract him while you lock him out. I'm not really the best with the technology stuff so I'll let you handle it."

The wolf gave her a thumbs up in acknowledgement. Amy rushed into the room ahead of him as Gadget peeked just enough so he could see through the doorway. Sure enough, a gray jackal was busy working at the terminal, a bright crimson aura around him.

"Infinite!" Amy shouted, the jackal simply turned to face her, his silver mask and the gemstone embedded in his chest becoming visible.

"Rose…" He began, his voice sending chills down Gadget's spine and causing his hair to stand on end. "I should have expected you here, being a G.U.N. attack dog after all… I assume you're here to stop me, and you expect this to be a fair fight? You're all alone this time, and I intend to ensure that will be a fatal mistake."

Gadget watched from the shadows as the jackal rose into the air, groups of crimson cubes of endless depth forming around him.

"I'm not afraid of you!" Amy spat.

"Oh, but you should be, all those memories of your friends, they're all so precious, I can't wait to break them… Do you really want to relive their deaths again, I assure you, it can be arranged!"

The jackal charged, tackling the hedgehog to the ground. As more bright red strands emerged from his fingers. Gadget took this as his opportunity and leapt from his hiding spot to the terminal and began to input the beginnings of a code to lock the machine, as he did. His body tensed up and his limbs froze to his sides as he as lifted into the air. Infinite looked over at him, a smirk visible on his mouth as his two orange and cobalt eyes dug into his soul.

"Did you really think you could distract me with that cheap trick? I must say, you've lost your touch Rose… Now who might this be?"

"Leave him alone!"

"I don't think I will… In fact, I can already feel the turmoil and fear in his mind. He reminds me of your thoughts Rose. There's so much guilt and regret, he seems like he'll be a fine specimen for me to break."

Amy charged the jackal, only for him to divide into two distinct copies of himself, which split again, leaving four jackals staring her down. She swung at one of them, the hammer only phasing harmlessly through the illusion.

"Face it," The jackal taunted. "You can't win, you and your pathetic Resistance will be snuffed out like a candle."

Amy took another swing at one of the jackals, somewhat surprised when the weapon connected and the jackal was launched backward through one of the nearby windows, sending a rain of shards everywhere. Gadget dropped to the ground, quickly scrambling to his feet and making his way back over to the terminal as Amy chased down the illusionist. Out in the courtyard, the jackal was waiting for her. His eyes glaring at her through the small sockets in the mask.

"That was lucky, you won't get another."

Amy, rather than responding, charged forward. The jackal effortlessly dodged the strike and fired a blast of crimson energy at the hedgehog. The blast struck her in the side. Instantly, the hedgehog found herself somewhere else as tendrils of crimson mist clouded her vision. She was back in the Mystic Ruins, before the whole war… She quickly tried to shut out the illusion, "This isn't real." She told herself, "He's just trying to get to you… He's just trying to-"

"Amy?"

The hedgehog froze, tears building up at this point. She recognized that voice though she wished she didn't. She tried to fight off the illusion, it breaking for just long enough for her to see a glimpse of freedom. Before yanking her back in, back to Tails' voice…

**Alright guys, that's it for today! But before I go, I'd like to announce that I've started a new collaboration with Ieju! The link is on my profile if you want to check it out! Until next time!**


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